Manufacture of nails and the like



M. HOWARTH.

MANUFACTURE OF NAILS AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED.SEPT. 30. I919.

M. H n/a. rf/Q Patented May 30, 1922.

MARK HOWARTH,'0F IPADGATE, WARRINGTON, NGLAND.

' r Afi F TU 0F il s l fii EL k- Specification of Letters Patent.Patented Ma 30 1922 Application filed September 30, 1919. Serial No.327,525.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARK HowAR'rH, a subject of the King of England, andresiding at Padgate, Warrington, in the county of Lancaster, England,have invented Improvements in the Manufacture of Nails and the like, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to the manufacture of nails made from wire,and has for its object to eifect the rapid and economical production ofhelically grooved wire nails.

A nail according to this invention is provided with a plurality, saythree, four or more helical grooves of long pitch, furnished with a headand pointed, and it is produced by first continuously drawing wirethrough a die consisting of a pluralityof balls held in a carrier,practically touching one another, and forming an aperture between them,and constituting a die, and revolving the balls around the wire at ahigh rate of speed, and at the same time drawing the wire rapidlythroughthe ball die.

The wire so formed is a helically grooved wire having round parts orridges, between the curved or concave grooves,-an illustration of thesection being shownin the ac companying drawings-and subsequently to themanufacture of the wire, it is taken and cut into lengths slightlygreater than that of the nail to be produced, and introduced into amachine of any known suitable kind,

and one end swaged or pressed and formed into a head, and the other endpointed.

The ball die for making the helically grooved wire, is illustrated inthe annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a general outside view, andFigure 2 is a section, whilst Figure 3 shows a section of the wire andnail produced, and Figure 4 a view in elevation of the completed nail.

It may be assumed that the wire will be drawn through the ball die bythe usual way of drawing wire. As above stated the die is revolved roundthe wire at a high rate of speed, while the wire is being drawn throughit, and the following rates of revolution and draught are given as anillustration. If the drawing rate be 36 feet per minute, the revolutionof the die will he. say 2,400 revolutlons per minute, which will producea wire 1n which the pitch of the helical grooves is about 1% inches.

With regard to the die, as will be seen this conslsts of a hollowspindle or body 1 supported in a headstock or bearing 2, say of:

the roller type, and having at one end a toothed pinion 3, which isdriven from suitable gearing at a high rate of speed; and in this headportion there is a chamber 1 in which the drawing balls 5 are placed,they being held in a cylinder or container 6 which is of such aninternal diameter that when in operation, and the wire is being drawnthrough the aperture formed between the balls, they will be pressed attheir outside surfaces on to the inner surface of the cylin der 6, andwill practically touch'each other at their adjacent faces. The balls areheld in the longitudinal direction by an end thrust plate 7 fitting onthe end of the cylinder, and held in place by the gland device 8, whichscrews into or isotherwise held in po sition in the chamber 4 as shown.

Referringv to the enlarged section of wire or nail given in Figure 3, 10denotes the concave grooves, and 11 the ridges between them which asseen have a curvature on their surface of the round wire which is usedand passed through the die, and constitute the parts which are not actedupon by the balls.

In action, by the wire being drawn through the aperture formed by theballs, they will be kept in the position shown in the drawing; thespaoebehind the balls 5 in the die cylinder 6 being filled with powderedsoap, or waste pressed lightly down to yieldingly hold the balls inposition.

' It will be obvious, that in making nails of different pitches ofgroove, different ratios of revolution of the die, for a given velocityof draught of wire through the die will have to be employed; and thevariations of the number of grooves required will be produced.

by varying the number of balls in the die, that is three, four, or more.

The nail of the type described, and made in the manner described, by theone drawballs into determinate lengths and. forming 10 heads on saidlengths. v a

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of tWo subscribing Witnesses. MARK HOWARTH. Witnesses:SOMERVILLE GoonALL,

ELSmEJORDAN.

